Dr. Imani Woody has a PhD in Human Services specializing in non-profit management. Her thesis is entitled: Lift Every Voice: A Qualitative Exploration of Ageism and Heterosexism as Experienced by Older African American Lesbian Women and Gay Males when Addressing Social Services Needs. She holds a Master of Human Services degree from Lincoln University and is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Paralegal program. Dr. Woody is currently working as a diversity consultant working in the field of aging and issues affecting the LGBT and people color communities. She has worked as the pro bono coordinator of the D.C. Bar and has served as the director of training for the National Association of Protection and Advocacy, coordinating and facilitating trainings across the country for people with disabilities and promoting cultural diversity. As the director of client services at the Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer, Dr. Woody managed programs that provided educational and direct services to lesbians and bisexual women with cancer. She was also the program manager for the National Caucus and Center on Black Aged, working on national health programs to educate elderly African American women. Formerly a training specialist for the AARP’s Foundation, Dr. Woody developed curriculum and delivery of on-site and web-based trainings. She trained substantive experts to become trainers through the Train-the Trainer program and provided on-going technical assistance to field trainers. Formerly a co-chair of PRiSM, AARP’s ERG group, Dr. Woody worked to help form the Washington, DC LGBT Elder Coalition.
Dr. Imani Woody has been an advocate of women, people of color and LGBT issues for more than 20 years and has served on the board of directors of the Mautner Project, Women in the Life Association and Whitman Walker Lesbian services. She currently is a Commissioner on the (Washington, DC) Mayor’s GLBT Advisory Counsel, sits on the Board of the Metropolitan Community Churches of WDC, is the Chair of SAGE Metro DC (an organization serving LGBT elders), and an Advisory Board member of the SAGE National Resource Center on LGBT Aging. She has been a life coach for more than 10 years and is the founder and principal of Living Life Like It’s Golden, a six-part program that empowers people to live their lives more fully through visioning. She is currently working to develop LGBT friendly residential housing in Washington, DC. She lives with her wife of twelve years in Brookland, WDC.